Annadurai is uniquely positioned to see this evolution play out. Leading a portfolio that spans cloud, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and IoT, he operates at the critical junction where technologies must not just coexist but harmonize to drive measurable outcomes. His perspective blends deep technical expertise with a pragmatic understanding of enterprise realities — from aligning with hyperscaler ecosystems to embedding AI into the very fabric of cybersecurity, data, and IoT.
In this interview, Annadurai reveals how Cognizant is using frameworks like its Agent Foundry to operationalize GenAI at scale, how organizations can move from reactive to intelligence-driven security postures, and why the future belongs to those who treat GenAI not as a project, but as an enterprise-wide transformation journey. The insights here are as much a blueprint for action as they are a glimpse into the AI-powered enterprise of tomorrow.
Some edited excerpts:
Cognizant has been at the forefront of integrating emerging technologies. How do you envision the role of GenAI evolving across enterprise functions?
GenAI is evolving from a tool for automation to a catalyst for autonomy. At Cognizant, we see this shift manifesting through the rise of agentic AI — autonomous agents that can perceive, decide, and act across enterprise workflows. As we’ve often highlighted, we’re entering an era where AI doesn’t just assist but collaborates with humans to drive outcomes. According to a Gartner report, by 2028, over 33% of enterprise software is expected to embed agentic AI, with 15% of day-to-day decisions made autonomously. This evolution will redefine enterprise functions — from finance and HR to customer service and operations — by embedding intelligence directly into the fabric of work.
How is Cognizant using GenAI internally to improve efficiencies?
Internally, we’re operationalizing GenAI through frameworks like the Cognizant Agent Foundry, which enables us to design and deploy AI agents that automate complex workflows and enhance agility. For example, in IT operations, our SmartOps platform uses agentic AI for proactive monitoring, autonomous ticket resolution, and intelligent access management. These capabilities are not only improving efficiency but also reducing operational friction and enhancing user experience.
You lead a diverse portfolio including cloud, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and IoT. What are some of the biggest challenges in harmonizing these domains to deliver seamless digital transformation for clients?
The challenge lies in orchestrating these domains into a unified, intelligent operational core. Our approach leverages modular agentic architectures that integrate cloud-native services, enforce zero-trust security, and enable real-time decision-making. For instance, our SmartOps platform transforms fragmented IT operations into coordinated, AI-driven ecosystems, ensuring resilience and scalability. The key is to move from siloed automation to cross-domain intelligence.
With hyperscaler partnerships playing a critical role in Cognizant’s strategy, how do you ensure alignment between these ecosystems and Cognizant’s delivery models?
We co-innovate with hyperscalers by aligning our GenAI Centers of Excellence with their roadmaps and embedding their capabilities into our Agent Foundry framework. This ensures interoperability, modularity, and speed-to-market. Our delivery models are designed to be platform-agnostic, allowing us to integrate seamlessly with partner ecosystems while maintaining enterprise-grade governance and security.
Cybersecurity is increasingly becoming a boardroom priority. How is Cognizant helping clients move from reactive security postures to proactive, intelligence-driven frameworks?
At Cognizant, we embrace security as culture by enabling our people with the awareness needed, encouraging to apply security by design at work and enforce as a mandate. We’re embedding GenAI into our cybersecurity fabric to enable predictive threat detection, autonomous response, and continuous compliance.
Our agentic systems can simulate attack scenarios, identify vulnerabilities, and recommend remediation paths in real time. This shift from reactive to proactive security is anchored in AI-driven observability and governance. With our Neuro Cybersecurity platform-powered MSSP (managed security service provider) offering, we help our clients to stay ahead of bad actors by mitigating the threats and remain compliant all the time.
Data and analytics are central to business decision-making. What innovations or shifts are you seeing in how enterprises leverage data for competitive advantage?
We’re seeing a pivotal shift from descriptive analytics to generative and prescriptive intelligence powered by AI-ready data. Enterprises are investing in trusted, enriched, and well-governed data foundations to fuel GenAI applications that synthesize structured and unstructured data, generate insights, and automate decisions. Our frameworks support this evolution by embedding data fabrics, vector databases, and knowledge graphs into agentic workflows, enabling real-time, context-aware decision-making at scale.
IoT continues to expand across industries. What are some of the most promising use cases you’re seeing, and how is Cognizant enabling clients to scale these solutions securely and efficiently?
In manufacturing, we’re deploying GenAI-powered digital twins and autonomous agents to optimize production and maintenance. Our focus is also on the automotive sector with autonomous and GenAI and Intelligent edge-based solutions to hyper-personalize automotive services for drivers and passengers, at speed. In healthcare, IoT devices are integrated with AI agents for real-time patient monitoring and intervention. Cognizant is advancing agentic AI-powered assistive tools for surgeons that performs real-time desmoking, surgical tool tracking, bleeding spot detection, and post-surgical analysis
What advice would you give to organizations just beginning their GenAI journey in terms of governance, scalability, and talent readiness?
Start with a dual-governance model — centralized for standards and decentralized for innovation. Establish a GenAI Center of Excellence to guide use case prioritization, ethical AI practices, and talent development. Use frameworks like Cognizant’s Agent Foundry to scale responsibly, ensuring modularity, explainability, and compliance from day one. Most importantly, GenAI should not be treated as a project but as a transformation journey. Start small and scale fast — doing a plethora of POCs is easy but building production-grade use cases is challenging.